MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1999 Regular Session

To: Fees, Salaries and Administration

By: Senator(s) Gordon

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-95, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ELIGIBILITY FOR STATE EMPLOYEE DONATED LEAVE SHALL BE BASED UPON REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY THE APPOINTING AUTHORITY; TO PROVIDE THAT DONATED LEAVE SHALL NOT BE USED IN LIEU OF DISABILITY RETIREMENT; TO EXTEND THE REPEALER ON THE PROVISION AUTHORIZING DONATION OF LEAVE BY STATE EMPLOYEES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 25-3-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

25-3-95. (1) All employees and appointed officers of the State of Mississippi, except recipients of full-time educational leave, while on such leave, shall accrue credits for major medical leave as follows:

Continuous Accrual Rate Accrual Rate

Service (Monthly) (Annually)

1 month to 3 years 8 hours per month 12 days per year

37 months to 8 years 7 hours per month 10.5 days per year

97 months to 15 years 6 hours per month 9 days per year

Over 15 years 5 hours per month 7.5 days per year

Faculty members employed by the eight (8) public universities on a nine-month contract shall accrue credit for major medical leave as follows:

Continuous Accrual Rate Accrual Rate

Service (Per Month) (Per Academic Year)

1 month to 3 years 13-1/3 hours per month 15 days per

academic year

37 months to 8 years 14-1/5 hours per month 16 days per

academic year

97 months to 15 years 15-2/5 hours per month 17 days per

academic year

Over 15 years 16 hours per month 18 days per

academic year

Part-time employees shall accrue major medical leave on a pro rata basis. There shall be no maximum limit to major medical leave accumulation. All unused major medical leave shall be counted as creditable service for the purposes of the retirement system as provided in Sections 25-11-103 and 25-13-5.

(2) Major medical leave may be used for the illness or injury of an employee or member of the employee's immediate family as defined in subsection (3) of this section, only after the employee has used one (1) day of accrued personal or compensatory leave for each absence due to illness, or leave without pay if the employee has no accrued personal or compensatory leave. Provided that faculty members employed by the eight (8) public universities on a nine-month basis may use major medical leave for the first day of absence due to illness. However, major medical leave may be used, without prior use of personal leave, to cover regularly scheduled visits to a doctor's office or a hospital for the continuing treatment of a chronic disease, as certified in advance by a physician. For the purposes of this section, "physician" means a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, dental medicine, podiatry or chiropractic. For each absence due to illness of thirty-two (32) consecutive working hours (combined personal leave and major medical leave) major medical leave shall be authorized only when certified by their attending physician.

(3) An employee may use up to three (3) days of earned major medical leave for each occurrence of death in the immediate family requiring the employee's absence from work. No qualifying time or use of personal leave will be required prior to use of major medical leave for this purpose. For the purpose of this subsection (3), the immediate family is defined as spouse, parent, stepparent, sibling, child, stepchild, grandchild, grandparent, son- or daughter-in-law, mother- or father-in-law or brother- or sister-in-law. Child means a biological, adopted or foster child, or a child for whom the individual stands or stood in loco parentis.

(4) Employees and appointed officers of the State of Mississippi having unused, accumulated sick leave or annual leave earned prior to July 1, 1984, shall be credited with major medical leave and personal leave as follows: All unused annual leave shall be credited as personal leave.

Unused sick leave shall be divided between major medical leave and personal leave at rates determined by the employee's sick leave balance on June 30, 1984. The rates of conversion shall be as follows:

Sick Leave Percentage Percentage

Balance as of Converted to Converted to

June 30, 1984 Personal Leave Major Medical Leave

1 - 200 hours 20% 80%

201 - 400 hours 25% 75%

401 - 600 hours 30% 70%

601 or more hours 35% 65%

(5) Upon retirement from active employment each faculty member of one (1) of the eight (8) public universities who is employed on a nine-month basis shall receive credit and be paid for not more than thirty (30) days of unused major medical leave for service as a state employee. Unused major medical leave in excess of thirty (30) days shall be counted as creditable service for the purposes of the retirement system as provided in Sections 25-11-103 and 25-13-5.

(6) Any officer of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol who is injured by wound or accident in the line of duty shall not be required to use earned major medical leave during the period of recovery from such injury.

(7) For the purpose of Sections 25-3-91 through 25-3-99, the earned major medical leave of each employee shall be credited monthly after the completion of each calendar month and the appointing authority shall not increase the amount of major medical leave to an employee's credit. It shall be unlawful for an appointing authority to grant major medical leave in an amount greater than was earned and accumulated by the officer or

employee.

(8) Any employee may donate a portion of his or her earned personal leave or major medical leave to another employee who is suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness, or to another employee who has a member of his or her immediate family who is suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness, in accordance with the following:

(a) The employee donating the leave (the "donor employee") shall designate the employee who is to receive the leave (the "recipient employee") and the amount of earned personal leave and major medical leave that is to be donated, and shall notify the donor employee's appointing authority or supervisor of his or her designation. The donor employee's appointing authority or supervisor then shall notify the recipient employee's appointing authority or supervisor of the amount of leave that has been donated by the donor employee to the recipient employee.

(b) The maximum amount of earned personal leave that an employee may donate to any other employee may not exceed a number of days that would leave the donor employee with fewer than seven (7) days of personal leave left, and the maximum amount of earned major medical leave that an employee may donate to any other employee may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the earned major medical leave of the donor employee.

(c) An employee must have exhausted all of his or her earned personal leave and major medical leave before he or she will be eligible to receive any leave donated by another employee. Eligibility for donated leave shall be based upon review and approval by the appointing authority.

(d) Before an employee may receive donated leave, he or she must provide his or her appointing authority or supervisor with a physician's statement that states the beginning date of the catastrophic injury or illness, a description of the injury or illness, and a prognosis for recovery and the anticipated date that the recipient employee will be able to return to work.

(e) If the total amount of leave that is donated to any employee is not used by the recipient employee, the donated leave shall be forfeited by the recipient and the donor.

(f) The failure of any appointing authority or supervisor of any employee to properly deduct an employee's donation of leave to another employee from the donor employee's earned personal leave or major medical leave shall constitute just cause for the dismissal of the appointing authority or supervisor.

(g) For the purposes of this subsection (8), "immediate family" means spouse, parent, stepparent, sibling, child or stepchild.

(h) Donated leave shall not be used in lieu of disability retirement.

(i) This subsection (8) shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2000.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.